Slow paddy procurement in Chhattisgarh

Paddy arrival in the societies set up by the state government to procure the yield at minimum support price (MSP) is yet to take pace in Chhattisgarh.

Procurement of paddy at MSP started across the state from November 1 and will continue till January 31, 2011. The state marketing federation has set up 1587 procurement centres under 1333 primary cooperative societies.

"Paddy arrival is slow in the societies and as of now, about 80,000 tonnes could be procured," a senior official with the federation said. The untimely rains that hit parts of Chhattisgarh early this month had affected the harvesting work that ultimately affected the procurement, the official added.

Chhattisgarh government had set a target to procure 5 million tonnes of paddy during the kharif marketing season 2010-11. Officials felt that the target could be easily achieved as the state recorded a good rainfall this year. Last year, about 4.4 million tonnes of paddy had been procured in the state.

Chief Minister Raman Singh has announced a bonus of Rs 50 per quintal on paddy over the minimum support price (MSP). Farmers selling their produce in the state-run societies will now get Rs 1030 for a quintal of common variety of paddy and Rs 1060 for grade-A paddy as MSP.

The government earmarked Rs 5,000 crore for purchasing paddy from farmers through the village-level cooperative societies for the kharif marketing season 2010-11. It sought cash credit limit (CCL) from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for procuring paddy in the state.